Can Anyone Explain the Semih / Luke Trade?

[Fred Roberts]

I don't see a forum topic on this. As much as the big news is the Perk trade, the Semih trade truly baffles me.

Say what you want about Luke, he may or may not be useful in the future; BUT Semih has nice size and was valuable NOW and down the road as he grows, gets healthy and so on. BOTH for a 2nd rounder???

We really wanted to clear the roster spots that badly? I just don't understand how losing Semih is worth that. Why not trade Luke for a 2nd round pick and keep Semih?

I'd love some insight on this.

[BudweiserCeltic]

They probably have hopes to get better players through buyouts and at least they get a second rounder out of it.

[droponov]

Maybe Cleveland believes any of those guys will become a rotational player in the future. I wouldn't want any of them near the playoff rotation for Boston, they're borderline NBA players. So Boston opens the roster spots, saves money, gets a 2nd round pick; the players get to stay in a NBA roster; the Cavs get an extended tryout.

[rondohondo]

Semih has had a shoulder injury all year and will need surgery in the off-season. Danny said he didn't know if Semih would make it through the rest of the year.

So he traded him and harongody(who has no value) for the Cavs 2nd rd pick, but it is the 1st pick (most likely)in the second round so it is really a late 1st round pick .

This also opened up a few roster spots, which we will use to pick up a healthy big man for the rest of the year .

[Bankshot]

I really didn't like giving up Semi, but they needed the roster spots, I think.  Gody was very expendable.

[arctic 3.0]

I don't see a forum topic on this. As much as the big news is the Perk trade, the Semih trade truly baffles me.

Say what you want about Luke, he may or may not be useful in the future; BUT Semih has nice size and was valuable NOW and down the road as he grows, gets healthy and so on. BOTH for a 2nd rounder???

We really wanted to clear the roster spots that badly? I just don't understand how losing Semih is worth that. Why not trade Luke for a 2nd round pick and keep Semih?

I'd love some insight on this.

I would suspect semih's shoulder is in worse shape then we thought.

[Interceptor]

Maybe they couldn't get a 2nd rounder for just Luke.  When you think about it, a 2nd round pick from the worst team in the league isn't all that different from a late 1st rounder, right?

Although I agree with you, I will miss Semih.  I thought he had some decent potential for this team in the future.

[Chris]

It was a bit strange, but here is the only thing that makes sense.

1. Danny did not feel either of them could help them in the playoffs this season, and did not see either of them as having big upsides.

2. Danny knew they needed the depth of legit NBA players who they could use in the playoffs if needed in those roster spots.

3. By trading them, they saved more cash than just cutting them, because of the luxury tax.  

[Chris]

I don't see a forum topic on this. As much as the big news is the Perk trade, the Semih trade truly baffles me.

Say what you want about Luke, he may or may not be useful in the future; BUT Semih has nice size and was valuable NOW and down the road as he grows, gets healthy and so on. BOTH for a 2nd rounder???

We really wanted to clear the roster spots that badly? I just don't understand how losing Semih is worth that. Why not trade Luke for a 2nd round pick and keep Semih?

I'd love some insight on this.

I would suspect semih's shoulder is in worse shape then we thought.

That's a good point.  I also wonder if they either feel he won't gain the strength he needs (its not like he's that young), or if they had concerns with him off the court (I think there were some maturity concerns with him before he was drafted).

[Lucky17]

Doc:

"Semih probably loved me because he couldn’t understand a word I was saying. That was probably a treat for him. But he’s going to be good player. I don’t think people realize how injured Semih was, not only with the groin, but his shoulder. He's probably going to need surgery on both. But he knew we were down and he played. That was pretty cool."

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4681089/deadline-leftovers-goodbye-rookies#more

He wouldn't have lasted much longer this season, by the sound of things.

[BballTim]

  This is a fairly interesting question. I can see trading Luke, but isn't Semih already on a minimum contract? How much money can it save to trade his contract away and cutting him when you find a replacement?

[Lucky17]

Another thought: by trading Cleveland two players, it forced them to make a roster cut.

Maybe Danny was hoping that it would force them into a buyout of Parker.

[Roy H.]

Benefits of the trade:

1.  We got a pretty good second rounder;

2.  We opened up two roster spots;

3.  We saved money under the luxury tax, as we won't have to pay tax on Semih or Luke anymore.

[BballTim]

Benefits of the trade:

1.  We got a pretty good second rounder;

2.  We opened up two roster spots;

3.  We saved money under the luxury tax, as we won't have to pay tax on Semih or Luke anymore.

  We only save money on the Semih deal if we don't replace him though, right?

[LooseCannon]

We really wanted to clear the roster spots that badly? I just don't understand how losing Semih is worth that. Why not trade Luke for a 2nd round pick and keep Semih?

Ainge got something in return for two players with contracts guaranteed through next season who he might have had to cut to add bought-out players.